The Buyer Backed Out After You Got an N12: Is the Notice Still Good?
Your landlord sold the house, served an N12 for the purchaser's own use — and then the deal collapsed. What the Residential Tenancies Act actually requires o...
Frequently Asked Questions
If the sale falls through, is my N12 automatically void?
Not automatically, and the distinction matters. Nothing in the Residential Tenancies Act says a section 49 notice expires when the agreement of purchase and sale dies. What happens in practice is that the landlord can no longer prove their case: the Board must be satisfied that a purchaser in good faith requires the unit, and there is no purchaser any more. The application fails — but you generally have to attend and say so rather than assume the file disappears.
Can the landlord use the same N12 for a different buyer?
A section 49 notice is given on behalf of a particular purchaser, and the affidavit under section 72(1)(b) is sworn by the person who personally requires the unit. A new buyer is a different person with a different intention, so the sensible view is that a fresh notice is needed. Board decisions have taken that approach, though they are not binding on each other. If your landlord is relying on an old notice for a new buyer, raise it squarely at the hearing.
Do I still get the one month of compensation?
Yes. Under section 49.1 the landlord must compensate you one month's rent or offer an acceptable alternative unit, and section 55.1 requires it no later than the termination date in the notice. Section 49.1(2) keeps that obligation on the landlord who gave the notice — it does not pass to the purchaser. Section 83(4) bars the Board from issuing an eviction order until the landlord has complied. Note that the 120-day compensation waiver taking effect on 21 September 2026 amends section 48.1 only; it does not touch purchaser notices.
I already moved out and nobody ever moved in. What can I do?
You may have a T5 application under section 57. You must show the notice was given in bad faith, that you left because of it, and that no person named in section 49 occupied the unit within a reasonable time. It must be filed within one year of moving out. Be aware that the statutory presumption of bad faith in section 57(5) applies only to landlord's own use notices under section 48 — on a purchaser's notice you have to prove bad faith affirmatively.
Does the landlord winning the eviction hearing mean I cannot bring a T5 later?
No. Section 57(4) says the Board may find that a landlord gave a notice in bad faith despite a previous finding by the Board to the contrary. A finding of good faith at the eviction hearing does not close the door on a later bad-faith application.
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